The largest collection of nations since WW2, 34 in total, assembled to respond to Iraq's invasion of Kuwait. An aggressive US lead propaganda campaign alongside threats of economic aid and promises of debt forgiveness were used to persuade many of the coalition forces to join. The war also earned the nickname the Video Game War because of the amount of footage broadcast showing aerial bombardment and frontline action. Completely dominated, the Iraqi soldiers had no option but to retreat. In a final act of defiance, they employed the scorched earth policy; a military strategy in which anything that could be used by enemy soldiers is destroyed. The burning oils fields of Kuwait remains one of the enduring images of the war.